Scotland’s Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead has warned that the impact of Brexit on research and innovation in Scotland cannot be underestimated. He was speaking following publication of a letter to Theresa May and Jean-Claude-Juncker signed by 29 Nobel Laureates, highlighting concerns about freedom of movement and funding. Mr Lochhead said: “This is a shocking…

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has welcomed the £14 million pay and terms and conditions of service agreement reached with approximately 6,000 support staff in Scotland’s 26 colleges. He said: “I am pleased to hear that college support staff have voted to accept this pay, terms and conditions offer. The deal recognises the important contribution they…

Responding to today’s Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019, Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead said: “We extend our congratulations to the University of Edinburgh on again being the highest placed Scottish university, and to Glasgow, Aberdeen and St Andrews Universities on staying in the Top 200 world university rankings.” “By head of population, Scotland…

The Scottish Government has accepted a list of far ranging recommendations from the International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA) to help empower and strengthen the Scottish education system and ultimately improve attainment. Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “We are fortunate to have the advice and guidance of the International Council of Education Advisers. They…

As Maths Week 2018 draws to a close, we welcome a guest blog from Maths Olympiad Agnijo Banerjee. Agnijo won gold at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad in Romania receiving a perfect score of 42 out of 42 in the 2-day/nine hour-long competition, he was one of only two out of 594 contestants to achieve a perfect…

Deputy First Minister John Swinney visited Pitlochry High School today for a special Maths Week Scotland performance by ‘International Mathemagian’ Andrew Jeffrey. A professional magic show with a twist, the show was entirely based around mathematics and learning with tricks using numbers, shapes, money, mind-reading and illusions. "You are all smarter than a calculator" Andrew…

Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead has praised the University of Glasgow for its efforts to attract more students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Mr Lochhead made the comments after meeting students who have benefited from the university’s widening participation programmes which aim to break down barriers for less affluent potential students. A record number of students from…

More than 70 years after Alan Turing and his colleagues cracked the Enigma code, helping to save many millions of lives during World War II, their story remains an inspiration to budding mathematicians around the world. Throughout Maths Week Scotland students in Angus will be given the chance to step into Turing’s famous shoes and…

A maths magician, a guitar physicist and a codebreaking team from Bletchley Park are among the highlights of Maths Week Scotland, which starts across the country today. It is #MathsWeekScot 2018 and I am delighted to launch the first of seven daily puzzles I will be tweeting this week. For help, check out the videos…

Commenting on the publication of the Scottish Funding Council’s Report on Widening Access 2016-17, Further and Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “These figures are a stark reminder of why this Government was right to take the action we did on widening access. “They show that in the four years up to 2016-17 nothing had…